5 Pet Stocks Fetching Big Returns

Pet medical stocks have been running wild so far in 2013

Pet owners are slated to shell out an estimated $55.5 billion in pet care just this year, while around $14.21 billion of that will come from veterinary costs.

Even if you’re not an animal lover, those numbers should make your ears perk up.

Investors who saw the potential in this space have enjoyed tail-wagging year-to-date returns from pet stocks like Skystar Bio-Pharmaceutical (SKBI) and Aratana Therapeutics (PETX).

In fact, pet medical companies specifically have a leg up for several reasons. First, pet owners pay out of pocket. Pet insurance exists, but in the U.S. it is considered indemnity insurance, so pet owners must pay the full amount of care and are reimbursed later. For veterinary and pharmaceutical businesses, that means no lag in getting paid.

Another benefit for these pet pharma stocks is that regulatory periods are usually shorter than for human drugs, so investors see a return much faster.

So for the healthcare portion of your portfolio, you might want to start digging into these five pet stocks, all of which have already fetched impressive returns this year.